Our company is focused on the manufacture and supply of designer home furnishings, like bedsheets, comforters, blankets and bed runners, for local and export markets. We blend advanced technology with exquisite craftsmanship, and we have a reputation for luxurious designs, rich colours and a quality finish. Wholesale distribution accounts for about 75% of our business, with the remainder in retail sales.
Connecting with consumers
While pandemic disruption severely impacted our industry and our company, I’m expecting e-commerce to be an engine of business recovery. Demand is definitely shifting online; that’s where consumers and small sellers are increasingly to be found.
One thing I really value about the e-commerce platform is that it provides a direct interface with the consumer. This helps sellers like us to better gauge the market and to gain insights and feedback about our products.
The e-commerce marketplace also offers a shorter payment cycle than the offline wholesale market, which is largely credit based. I am now exploring online channels as a way to grow our business and build resilience.
Selling via online channels
After joining the Walmart Vriddhi program, we are now listing some of our key products on the Flipkart e-commerce marketplace.
There is a lot to learn when you begin selling digitally, especially with an eye on international markets. But with Vriddhi helping us gain the practical know-how of building an export business, I am positive that we will be able to tap more overseas markets in the long run.
The Vriddhi modules cover everything from consumer needs to product development to manufacturing. By applying this knowledge, we are confident that we will be able to realize the potential of e-commerce and increase sales multi-fold via digital selling in the coming year and beyond.
I joined my family business Shree Shakti Enterprises after completing my MBA from Amity University a decade ago. We have been bulk traders of steel utensils since 1956 and have also been supplying kitchenware to Walmart Best Price for the last nine years.
Over these years, my father has been my biggest mentor. He too has overcome several challenges, but nothing like the impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on our business.
As India went into a nationwide lockdown in March, four of our manufacturing units in Sonipat, Haryana had to be shut down. With demand for our kitchenware falling drastically, I got very worried about my workforce and how I would support them in this challenging time.
I remembered I had seen a hand wash station that doctors use in hospitals and I thought we could tweak the model to make it work through a foot pedal instead of our hands. Convincing my father wasn’t an easy task – he discouraged from going to the factory due to the COVID-19 scare. But I still went to my factory and stayed there for a few days and built the first prototype which was set up near our residential colony.
As people started giving good feedback, my father came on board. There has been no looking back since then!
I also sent a prototype to Walmart India. With the help of their feedback on technical feasibility and commercial viability, I was able to fine tune the product. Thanks to their suggestion, I have also built a sensor based sanitizer dispenser. In fact, I have built an automatic foot sanitizer too.
For the hand wash station, I have crossed 1,100 orders and these have been set up in various government offices as well and also several private sector companies in the automobile sector. This has led to up to Rs 1.5 crore in sales during the lockdown. I also have orders worth another Rs 2.5 crore.
I am also on board the Walmart Vriddhi supplier development program and I feel this will help my business achieve even greater heights. It will be helpful to learn the best business practices to scale the MSME ecosystem and spread our wings.
